Serum fatty acids and risk of breast cancer in a nested case-control study of the New York University Women's Health Study.

Migrant and experimental animal studies suggest that differences in breast cancer incidence rates may be related, in part, to intake of dietary fat. The experimental evidence indicates that total fat, saturated, and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may stimulate both mammary tumor growth and metastasis, whereas n-3 PUFAs may have a tumor-inhibiting effect. Overall, epidemiological studies do not appear to confirm such observations. Within a cohort of women in the New York University Women's Health Study, the fatty acid composition of serum phospholipids was analyzed by gas chromatography among 197 pre- and postmenopausal clinically identified breast cancer subjects and their matched controls. Individual fatty acids in serum phospholipids were expressed as a percentage of total fatty acids. No significant difference was observed in the proportion of saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids, or n-6 and n-3 PUFAs between cases and controls. After menopause, total SFAs were positively associated with the risk of breast cancer [odds ratio (OR) = 1.96, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.73-5.25; P = 0.05] after adjustment for potential confounding factors. Myristc acid (C14:0) was suggestive of a small increase in breast cancer risk in premenopausal women (OR = 2.22, 95% CI: 0.78-6.31), whereas palmitic acid (C16:0) showed similar trends in postmenopausal women (OR = 2.57, 95% CI: 0.99-6.61). Overall, total PUFAs (n-6 and n-3) were suggestive of a small protective effect (OR = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.31-1.09). No significant associations were found between other fatty acids and the risk of breast cancer. The study suggested evidence of an association between serum levels of SFAs and the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Neither individual n-3 fatty acids of marine origin, eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5 n-3), and docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6 n-3), nor n-6 PUFAs were related to cancer risk in this study.

[1]  M. Fay,et al.  Meta-analyses of dietary fats and mammary neoplasms in rodent experiments , 1997, Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

[2]  F. Berrino,et al.  Erythrocyte membrane fatty acids and subsequent breast cancer: a prospective Italian study. , 2001, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[3]  W. Willett,et al.  Types of dietary fat and breast cancer: A pooled analysis of cohort studies , 2001, International journal of cancer.

[4]  E. Riboli,et al.  Reliability of fatty acid composition in human serum phospholipids , 2000, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

[5]  E. Germain,et al.  Low alpha-linolenic acid content of adipose breast tissue is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. , 2000, European Journal of Cancer.

[6]  K. Wakai,et al.  Fat intake and breast cancer risk in an area where fat intake is low: a case-control study in Indonesia. , 2000, International journal of epidemiology.

[7]  Ames,et al.  Cohort studies of fat intake and the risk of breast cancer--a pooled analysis. , 2000 .

[8]  E Riboli,et al.  Fatty‐acid composition in serum phospholipids and risk of breast cancer: An incident case‐control study in Sweden , 1999, International journal of cancer.

[9]  G A Colditz,et al.  Association of dietary intake of fat and fatty acids with risk of breast cancer. , 1999, JAMA.

[10]  M. Schymura,et al.  Comparison of active and cancer registry-based follow-up for breast cancer in a prospective cohort study. , 1999, American journal of epidemiology.

[11]  M. Katan,et al.  Linoleic acid intake and cancer risk: a review and meta-analysis. , 1998, The American journal of clinical nutrition.

[12]  David J Hunter,et al.  Circulating concentrations of insulin-like growth factor I and risk of breast cancer , 1998, The Lancet.

[13]  S. Franceschi,et al.  Diet and risk of breast cancer: major findings from an Italian case-control study. , 1998, Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie.

[14]  P. van’t Veer,et al.  Adipose tissue omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid content and breast cancer in the EURAMIC study. European Community Multicenter Study on Antioxidants, Myocardial Infarction, and Breast Cancer. , 1998, American journal of epidemiology.

[15]  M. Fay,et al.  Effect of different types and amounts of fat on the development of mammary tumors in rodents: a review. , 1997, Cancer research.

[16]  P. van’t Veer,et al.  Adipose fatty acids and cancers of the breast, prostate and colon: An ecological study , 1997 .

[17]  P. van’t Veer,et al.  Adipose fatty acids and cancers of the breast, prostate and colon: an ecological study. EURAMIC Study Group. , 1997, International journal of cancer.

[18]  B. Pasternack,et al.  Relation of serum levels of testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate to risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. , 1997, American journal of epidemiology.

[19]  A. Folsom,et al.  Relation between plasma phospholipid saturated fatty acids and hyperinsulinemia. , 1996, Metabolism: clinical and experimental.

[20]  A. Ronco,et al.  Meat, fat and risk of breast cancer: A case‐control study from Uruguay , 1996, International journal of cancer.

[21]  C. Welsch,et al.  Review of the effects of dietary fat on experimental mammary gland tumorigenesis: role of lipid peroxidation. , 1995, Free radical biology & medicine.

[22]  P. Strax,et al.  A prospective study of endogenous estrogens and breast cancer in postmenopausal women. , 1995, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[23]  E. Riboli,et al.  Consumption of Meat, Animal Products, Protein, and Fat and Risk of Breast Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study in New York , 1994, Epidemiology.

[24]  J. Hirsch,et al.  Breast cancer risk and fatty acids in the breast and abdominal adipose tissues. , 1994, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[25]  N. Boyd,et al.  A meta-analysis of studies of dietary fat and breast cancer risk. , 1993, British Journal of Cancer.

[26]  S. London,et al.  Fatty acid composition of the subcutaneous adipose tissue and risk of proliferative benign breast disease and breast cancer. , 1993, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[27]  R. Goldbohm,et al.  A prospective cohort study on dietary fat and the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. , 1993, Cancer research.

[28]  L. Vatten,et al.  Polyunsaturated fatty acids in serum phospholipids and risk of breast cancer: a case-control study from the Janus serum bank in Norway. , 1993, European journal of cancer.

[29]  J. Manson,et al.  Dietary fat and fiber in relation to risk of breast cancer. An 8-year follow-up. , 1992, JAMA.

[30]  T. Sellers,et al.  Dietary fat and postmenopausal breast cancer. , 1992, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[31]  J. Larner,et al.  Measurement of estradiol-17-fatty acid esters in human tissues. , 1992, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[32]  C. Welsch,et al.  Relationship between dietary fat and experimental mammary tumorigenesis: a review and critique. , 1992, Cancer research.

[33]  N. Day,et al.  Diet, alcohol consumption and reproductive factors in a case‐control study of breast cancer in Moscow , 1991, International journal of cancer.

[34]  A. Miller,et al.  A cohort study of fat intake and risk of breast cancer. , 1991, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[35]  M. Ewertz,et al.  Dietary factors and breast‐cancer risk in Denmark , 1990, International journal of cancer.

[36]  D. Albanes,et al.  Dietary fat and risk of breast cancer. , 1990, The American journal of clinical nutrition.

[37]  D. Zaridze,et al.  Fatty acid composition of phospholipids in erythrocyte membranes and risk of breast cancer , 1990, International journal of cancer.

[38]  B. Modan,et al.  Dietary factors and risk of breast cancer: combined analysis of 12 case-control studies. , 1990, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[39]  M. Gerber,et al.  Relationship between vitamin E and poly-unsaturated fatty acids in breast cancer , 1990 .

[40]  M. Gerber,et al.  Relationship between vitamin E and polyunsaturated fatty acids in breast cancer. Nutritional and metabolic aspects , 1989, Cancer.

[41]  J. C. Díaz-Zagoya,et al.  Long-acting estrogenic responses of estradiol fatty acid esters. , 1989, Journal of steroid biochemistry.

[42]  E. Riboli,et al.  Calorie-providing nutrients and risk of breast cancer. , 1989, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[43]  L. Kazdová,et al.  Insulin secretion and insulin action related to the serum phospholipid fatty acid pattern in healthy men. , 1989, Metabolism: clinical and experimental.

[44]  J. Adams,et al.  Properties of fatty acyl-coenzyme A: estradiol-17β acyltransferase in bovine placenta microsomes , 1988, Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology.

[45]  R. Saracci,et al.  Biological markers of diet. , 1987, Cancer surveys.

[46]  C. la Vecchia,et al.  Dietary factors and the risk of breast cancer. , 1987, Nutrition and cancer.

[47]  B. Modan,et al.  Role of fat, animal protein, and dietary fiber in breast cancer etiology: a case-control study. , 1986, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[48]  S. Abraham,et al.  Effect of dietary menhaden oil on tumor cell loss and the accumulation of mass of a transplantable mammary adenocarcinoma in BALB/c mice. , 1986, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[49]  J. Larner,et al.  The naturally occurring C-17 fatty acid esters of estradiol are long-acting estrogens. , 1985, Journal of steroid biochemistry.

[50]  A. A. Spector,et al.  Effect of alterations in membrane lipid unsaturation on the properties of the insulin receptor of Ehrlich ascites cells. , 1982, Biochimica et biophysica acta.

[51]  Y. Abul-Hajj.  Formation of estradiol-17β fatty acyl 17-esters in mammary tumors , 1982, Steroids.

[52]  R. Hochberg,et al.  Estradiol fatty acid esters. The isolation and identification of the lipoidal derivative of estradiol synthesized in the bovine uterus. , 1982, The Journal of biological chemistry.

[53]  C. Kahn,et al.  Maintenance of 3T3-L1 cells in culture media containing saturated fatty acids decreases insulin binding and insulin action. , 1981, Biochemical and biophysical research communications.

[54]  R. Hochberg,et al.  Lipoidal derivative of estradiol: the biosynthesis of a nonpolar estrogen metabolite. , 1981, Endocrinology.

[55]  K. Carroll,et al.  Relationship between amount and type of dietary fat in promotion of mammary carcinogenesis induced by 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene. , 1979, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[56]  A. Miller,et al.  A study of diet and breast cancer. , 1978, American journal of epidemiology.

[57]  B. Modan,et al.  Dietary factors and cancer in Israel. , 1975, Cancer research.

[58]  P. Buell.  Changing incidence of breast cancer in Japanese-American women. , 1973, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[59]  S. Hashimoto,et al.  Composition of lipids in human serum and adipose tissue during prolonged feeding of a diet high in unsaturated fat. , 1966, Journal of lipid research.